Beyond crypto: How DeFi can defy finance elites to empower all

Just like the rise of cryptocurrencies as a three-trillion-dollar digital asset class has evoked both enthusiasm and ire in the world of traditional finance, the next wave of technology-powered financial innovation is sparking a blend of anxiety and exuberance. It’s called decentralized finance (DeFi), referring to the use of blockchain technology to allow users to cut out intermediaries and directly lend, invest, and access capital markets.

How Russia demanding gas payment in rubles will affect the Middle East

Germany is considering buying gas from Qatar amid the war in Ukraine and the United States has been pushing the Gulf state to send more gas to Europe.

Russian President Vladimir Putin announced today that Russia will accept gas payments in rubles and not euros or dollars. Putin said the stipulation applies to an unspecified list of “unfriendly” countries, the official TASS news agency reported.

Russian stock market, crushed by war, opens with big limits

The Russian stock market opened Thursday for limited trading under heavy restrictions for the first time since Moscow invaded Ukraine, coming almost a month after prices plunged and the market was shut down as a way to insulate the economy.

Trading of a limited number of stocks, including energy giants Gazprom and Rosneft, took place under curbs meant to prevent a repeat of the massive selloff on Feb. 24 that came in anticipation of Western economic sanctions.

‘They Keep Killing Us’: Violence Rages in Sudan’s Darfur Two Decades On

A soot-streaked shell is all that remains of Awatif Fadl’s house, destroyed a year ago when gunmen riding camels, horses and motorcycles stormed through Krinding, a remote camp in Darfur, western Sudan, firing their weapons and burning every home in sight.

Dozens of people were killed, including nine members of Ms. Fadl’s family. Thousands fled, some across the border to Chad. “Nobody came to save us,” she said.

Four Mali Soldiers Killed in Twin Attacks: Army

Four Malian troops were killed in separate suspected jihadist attacks Monday, the army said, two in the east and two in the country’s center.

In central Boni, the army said it “recorded two dead and seven wounded” following an ambush while 13 attackers were killed and two “terrorists” arrested, the statement said.

Ukraine-Russia War: Africa Undercuts Ability to Mediate, Analysts Say

Political analysts say South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has undercut his own utility as a potential mediator of the war in Ukraine with a controversial suggestion that NATO’s own actions are to blame for Russia’s invasion of its western neighbor.

Ramaphosa has said he prefers negotiations over weapons or economic sanctions, in reference to sanctions piled on Russia by the United States and Western allies in the aftermath of the invasion, now in its fourth week.